John Smith - Dalglish is victim of greed

THE sacking of Kenny Dalglish this week was described as a shock and a surprise.

And in terms of timing, it was certainly unexpected.

But when you peel back the layers, you find that, sadly, it was more inevitable than shocking.

Liverpool won some silverware this season and that used to be something all clubs cherished.

But not any more.

Not since the Champions League morphed into the grotesque, bloated licence to print money that it is now.

Now, like members of the House of the Commons, it’s not about what you do, it’s about how much money you can make.

Finishing in the top four is more important than winning something and for Liverpool’s American owners, not being able to gorge in the Champions League trough next season was too much to bear – and so Dalglish had to pay the consequences.

King Kenny, as he will forever be known at Anfield, is not without fault.

Liverpool’s home record has been woeful, finishing eighth in the league is poor by the lofty standards of the sides of old that Dalglish was such a key part of.

And his bloody-minded defence of Luis Suarez following the Uruguayan’s racist abuse of Patrice Evra did himself no favours.

But that alone is no reason to sack him. Not when he has won one competition and been runner-up in another.

But cup finals are not fat Champions League paydays and the Europa League is not the European football the owners want.

Dalglish played in an era when finishing fourth rightly earned you praise but no more while winning something actually meant something.